Hayek's The Constitution of Liberty - Institute of Economic Affairs

h ay e k ’ s t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n o f l i b e r t y
s u m m a r y
• Hayek does not favour passive government, but rather one
that seeks many benefits for the community. Although he
shares the ‘strong presumption against governments actively
participating in economic efforts’, he nonetheless states that
the ‘old formulae of laissez faire or non-intervention do not
provide us with an adequate criterion for distinguishing
between what is and what is not admissible in a free system’.
As he explains, ‘it is the character rather than the volume
of government activity that is important’. In economic
matters, for example, an active government that assists the
spontaneous forces of the market is preferable to a less active
one that does the wrong things. In this regard he sees himself
as following the best of the classical liberals, such as Adam
Smith.
• In cases where coercion might be involved, the policy actions
of government are limited by the Rule of Law. In other cases,
Hayek recommends that government’s policies be judged
by the principle of expediency, or what best serves the
community’s interest.
• In the final part of The Constitution of Liberty Hayek examines
many areas of contemporary policy concern – social security,
taxation, healthcare, housing, urban planning, natural
resources and education – in light of the principles developed
in the earlier parts of his study. Two features stand out: Hayek
is willing for government to provide a broad range of social
services, in line with principles enunciated above; and he
steadfastly opposes policies that aim at wealth redistribution
or ‘social justice’.
• In approaching The Constitution of Liberty, the reader
must above all be prepared for surprises, regardless of his
previous readings of the text. There are plenty of loose ends
and undeveloped lines of reasoning in The Constitution of
Liberty. A crucial concept that Hayek depends on but leaves
undeveloped is that of ‘the community’. Very much along
Lockean lines, Hayek holds that the majority of a community,
for its own protection, can authorise government to suspend
civil liberties in emergency situations. But that is not all. The
majority can authorise government to coerce citizens even
when they have not violated the law. Leading examples are
the military draft and the imposition of taxes. The implication
here is that the community’s interest is the highest end that
government must seek, overriding the strict Rule of Law or in
furtherance of it. Expedient policies are measured finally by
the interest of the community. Another challenge in reading
Hayek’s text is to penetrate his theory of knowledge – one that
views man’s mind as ‘a product of the civilization in which it
has grown up’. Can Hayek avoid a thoroughgoing relativism
and make room for universal or transcendent standards?
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